The Heart That Never
by gingerdorks
Summary: After his ship bound for the Southern Isles is delayed, a mysterious white streak is found in the disgraced prince's hair.
1. Chapter 1

"The only frozen heart around here is yours!"

Anna turned away from her ex-fiancé, satisfied with her witty retort. Well, almost…

She spun back around quickly, grabbing the front of his cloak in one hand, the other swinging around to hit him square in the face. She smirked as she felt her fist connect with his nose, toppling him backwards and over the edge of the ship they were on.

The cheers of the nobles ringing in her ears, Anna peered over to the water, searching for him. He quickly resurfaced, gasping and spluttering from both the water and blood pouring down his throat. Spotting her gaze, he glared up at her, his face looking rather menacing smeared with so much blood, and called out:

"Never thought you'd be one to gloat, princess,"

Her hands balled into fists as she yelled back "Unlike some people, I don't just leave others todie! I was making sure you weren't drowning!"

"Your concern is touching, but I'd be a rather poor naval officer if I didn't know how to swim,"

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the group, her scowl softening as she drank in the face of her smiling sister. She had rarely ever seen Elsa before the coronation, let alone seen her so happy, that the mere sight of her made her heart swell. Kristoff bounded towards her, mouth agape.

"Anna! That was – that was, well, amazing!"

"Eh, it was nothing," she waved her hand. "He got what was coming to him,"

"But Anna – you punched him clean off the boat!"

"Yeah, so?" she looked up at him quizzically. "Weren't you just about to do the same?"

"Well yeah, but…" he grinned. "I don't have scrawny princess arms like you!" He held his arm up against hers to demonstrate. His bicep was at least 3 times bigger than hers.

"You shouldn't be so surprised, you did see me knock out a wolf with a lute," she laughed, before turning back to Elsa, who was watching her, hands clasped.

"Are you – alright? I mean, I know I didn't approve, but-" she glanced towards where Hans had been standing. "You said you thought it was true love,"

"Yeah," Anna's shoulders slumped a little. "I thought it was true love. Guess I was wrong…"

"Oh, Anna…" she whispered, holding her arms open hesitantly. She was obviously still wary about hurting her, though Anna could hardly blame her, considering everything that had happened in the last few days. Had it only been that long, she wondered as she stepped into her sister's arms. She felt as if she had aged years, not days.

She heard Kristoff awkwardly clear his throat, and opened her eyes to see him shepherding Sven and Olaf to the other side of the deck.

"I think they might want some time alone, guys,"

Olaf didn't seem to mind, humming happily to himself as he skipped away, face turned up towards the sun and his new snow flurry. Kristoff chuckled as he watched him go, settling himself on the side of the ship to watch the fjord, absent-mindedly stroking Sven as he did so.

Anna followed the direction of his gaze, her eyes landing on Hans, who was swimming to shore, his progress somewhat slowed by his waterlogged winter coat. She felt her breath catch – what if he escaped? – but she was immediately put at ease when she noticed some of the guards who had been watching them make their way towards the docks for him.

"His love may not have been true," Elsa's words brought Anna back to the moment, her cool hand stroking her copper hair soothingly. "But yours was. Try to focus on that. You savedyourself. I'm so proud of you!" She drew back and gave Anna's shoulders a reassuring squeeze, flashing her a watery smile.

This moment was everything she had dreamed of for the past decade – her sister smiling, smiling at her. No more closed doors, but acceptance instead. Of course, Anna hadn't been expecting her sister to be wearing a dress made out of ice, but who cared about details anyway? The only unwelcome thing she didn't foresee was the pain of betrayal still needling away at her heart. Punching Hans had been satisfying – perhaps a little too satisfying for a princess – but it didn't erase what he had done or the sick feeling that had been eating away at her insides since that ugly confession had poured forth from such beautiful lips.

No, she wouldn't let him poison the moment she had waited practically her whole life for. Pushing aside all thoughts of Hans, she focused on the dear sibling in front of her, her face alight with joy for the first time in years.

"I'm proud of you, too! You managed to thaw everything, just like I knew you would!" Her beam faltered for a moment, as she considered something. "Now that – now that everyone knows…does this mean that the gates can stay open?"

Anna saw fear flicker in her sister's eyes, watched as she tensed and almost automatically folded her hands close to her body, still trying to keep them away from the world.

"I…I don't know. Maybe?" She bit her lip, brows creasing. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt, Anna. I think I've finally found a way to help control it, but that doesn't mean I can't still hurt people…"

Seeing Anna's devastated expression, Elsa took a deep breath before hesitantly reaching for her sister's hands. "I can't learn how to stop myself from freezing things accidentally overnight, you understand that, don't you?" Elsa squeezed her hands reassuringly. "But…that doesn't mean we have to keep ourselves locked away, either. I don't know that I'm ready for the gates to be fully open….but I'm sure we can work something out."

"Really?" Anna could feel her eyes start to swim with tears at the prospect of finally ending the terrible loneliness of the past decade. "You promise?"

Instead of turning away, Elsa smiled – a full, genuine smile that brightened her whole face and made her eyes sparkle.

"I promise. It's time to stop hurting us both – and the kingdom – because I'm scared that I mighthurt someone with my powers. But, listen Anna –" She bit her lip again, her constant worrying at the skin wearing away her lipstick. "I want you to be happy, but things like this can't happen overnight. All I'm asking is for you to wait, just a little while longer. Okay?"

"Okay? I've been waiting my whole life for this to happen!" She gave a choked laugh before continuing. "I think I can wait a little while longer,"

Anna had meant to reassure her sister, but she could see that her words had only caused yet more guilt to flare in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Anna." She slipped her hands from her sister's, using them to cradle herself instead. "I was so terrified of hurting you with my powers, that I didn't realise the loneliness could hurt you just as badly. I should have known…the same thing happened to me over the years…"

"It's okay, Elsa. I understand. If I'd known sooner, then I wouldn't have pushed you so hard at…at the ball," She winced, remembering just what – or rather whom – had been at the root of the argument. "You've spent so many years locked away – we both have – but things are different now. People know, and…they don't mind. You don't have to shut yourself away anymore. Now that you've figured out the key, you can work on your powers, we can open the gates… and neither of us will have to be lonely ever again."

Elsa still looked wary; after living behind closed gates for most her life, the idea of opening them must surely be terrifying.

"Now that you don't have to hide anymore, things can only get better, right?"

"I think… a lot of my fear came from wondering what people would think if they found out, but now I can see that I have people's support," She nodded over to the townspeople at the docks, who were waving and smiling. "It'll be a little easier. At least I won't have to hide when practicing how to control it. Maybe if we hadn't been so concerned about trying to keep it hidden then maybe things wouldn't have gone as far as they did…"

Anna saw a shadow cross her sister's face and quickly stepped in before it could settle. "Don't worry about that now. The past is in the past, and there's nothing we can do to change it. But we're both ready to start things fresh, right?"

"Right. I suppose the first thing to do is let everyone know what's happened, they'll be wanting an explanation."

"I'm just glad that at least a few people saw what happened, we don't need the duke trying to say you're still dangerous."

Anna would have liked to give him a smack in the face too, but she wasn't really sure if it was fair to pick on someone half her size, no matter how rotten they were.

"Is that what he's been doing?" Elsa frowned, looking towards his ship. "He was supposed to be here on trade negotiations, you'd think he'd have a little more tact."

"Well, he was when I left, but I'm not sure what he's been up to since I came after you. I suppose the one who'd know is…"

Anna looked back out at the fjord to see Hans further downstream, hauling himself out of the water, only to be met by the Arendelle guards, all of whom looked ready to throw him back in. Instead, they dragged him to his feet, frog-marching him towards the palace and, hopefully, the dungeons.

Kristoff seemed to share this sentiment, laughing quietly to himself as he watched the sopping wet prince stumble over a loose cobblestone.

"Ugh, looks like I've got some serious damage control to take care of," Elsa wearily rubbed at her forehead. "We need to get back as soon as we can."

Taking a deep breath in through her nose, Anna turned back to the others; forcing a smile onto her face, she gestured to the ship they were on, currently afloat in the middle of the fjord.

"So… any of you know how to steer a boat?"

–

A few days later found Anna and Elsa engaged in a rather heated game of chess; both had only learned the rules in the past few days, resulting in many disagreements over which moves were legal or not. Anna nervously glanced over to Elsa's side of the table, where a small heap of black pieces were piled on top of the rule book. Anna's own collection of taken pieces was noticeably smaller, but she was sure she'd spotted a chink in Elsa's defence; Anna moved her piece, triumphantly snatching up one of Elsa's castles.

"Anna," hearing Elsa's voice, she paused, just about to break into a victory dance. "We've been through this. Bishops can't jump over other pieces. None of them can. Except for the knights. Put it back and make a proper move,"

"They can too go over pieces! As long as they're pawns – I'm certain!"

"They can't!" Elsa sat back, a small smile playing on her lips. "Just admit that you can't beat me without cheating,"

"No, look!" Anna grabbed the book, knocking all the taken pieces to the floor in the process. "I'll prove that they can!" She muttered, flipping through the pages, a grumpy pout forming as she glanced between the book and her amused sister.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in!" called Elsa, laughing at the increasingly irritated expression on Anna's face.

The door opened to reveal Kai, an unusually anxious expression on his face. Elsa frowned; he was a difficult man to fluster, so any news he came bearing would certainly not be good.

"Sorry to interrupt, your Majesty, but a situation has arisen at the docks."

"The docks?" Elsa asked, starting to understand his expression. Today was the day visitors from the coronation were supposed to be leaving, including…

"Yes, your majesty, the docks. It seems that there's a rather serious storm on the horizon, meaning it's not safe for any of the ships to leave today. Unfortunately, this means that the departure of certain…undesirables will be delayed for a few days,"

Elsa reached for her gloves, twisting them between her hands, and chanced a look at her sister. The book lay forgotten in her lap, and she was regarding Kai with an unusually hard expression.

"You mean…?" Anna's voice cracked a little, and she hurried to cover it with a cough.

"I'm afraid so, your highness. The prince of the Southern Isles will be in Arendelle for longer than planned." He made a face. "The Duke of Weasel-town, too,"

Elsa's lip twitched at Kai's deliberate mis-pronunciation; he was surely trying to cheer the sisters up a little. What would she do without him? Following his lead, she summoned the most indignant voice she could muster. "It's Weselton!"

Anna snorted quietly, and covered her mouth with her hand. Elsa breathed a silent sigh of relief at the reaction. She had naturally been worried about her younger sister for the past few days; obviously she didn't really know what counted as normal for Anna (a fact that continued to pain her), but she definitely seemed to be lacking the usual spring in her step that Elsa would often still manage to witness when they used to take dinner together. The prince had really done a number on her sister, but Elsa was certain that if she could still laugh, she could heal. It would just take time.

Looking back at Kai, she smiled gratefully. "Thank you for telling me, Kai. I suppose I need to go sort this out," She stood, pulling her gloves on as she rose. "As much as I loathe to bring him closer to the palace, I'd feel much safer if he were in our dungeons. I'm not sure I trust him on that ship without fathoms of water between us."

"But what about our game?" Anna asked, face falling again.

"I'm sorry Anna, but this is important." She gave a tight smile. "We can finish another time, okay?"

"Okay," She sighed, getting up to put the book away. "Not as if I have much of a choice anyway," She muttered as she bent to retrieve the chess pieces that had fallen to the floor.

Elsa couldn't help the grimace that twisted her features as the door clicked shut behind her.

–

"You're certain about this?" the Queen asked, looking from one grave face to the other.

Prince Hans had only been in the dungeon for a few days, but apparently he was already causing trouble. An urgent summons from the palace guard had left Elsa almost running to the throne room, fearful that he'd somehow managed to escape. The news awaiting her was not quite as threatening, but was worrisome all the same.

"Yes, your majesty," One of the royal guards replied. "A streak of white, just like Princess Anna used to have,"

Elsa frowned, worrying at her bottom lip. "This doesn't make any sense. Why now?" She paused, the lines on her forehead growing deeper. "Is there any way he could be faking this? How carefully did you check?"

"We thought perhaps he'd rubbed chalk in his hair," the other guard spoke this time. "But we couldn't find any residue. " He hesitated, selecting his next words carefully. "Of course what the prisoner says isn't to be taken at face value…but he kept insisting that he was fine. He seemed to even be attempting to conceal it,"

"Just what game is he playing…?" she spoke softly, almost to herself. Rubbing at her forehead, she gave a resigned sigh. "I suppose I should go see for myself….he is in our care, after all. I don't think the Southern Isles would be very pleased if he mysteriously died in our dungeons…"

"We'll escort you there now, if you'd like, your Majesty,"

The queen nodded, following the guards as they turned on their heel. As the guards escorted her through the castle, she couldn't help but keep glancing round anxiously, worried that they would bump into Anna at any moment. Elsa didn't want to treat her sister as fragile, but she didn't think hearing about the treacherous prince would do her any good. They were almost there, and Elsa was ready to breathe a sigh of relief – until Anna came barrelling out of nowhere, knocking straight into the guards.

"Sorry, sorry!" Anna brushed herself off, hurriedly apologising to the men she had just winded. She started when she noticed the uniforms, slightly different to the standard guard that patrolled the palace. "What are you doing up here?" She asked, her voice strained. "Is something the matter?"

Elsa tried to smile reassuringly, but she felt it falter as soon as her sister's eyes met her own. "Don't worry Anna, just boring queen stuff," She could see Anna looked sceptical. "Once I'm finished we can go ice-skating, if you want?"

Anna wouldn't let herself be distracted, however. "Don't lie to me, Elsa. It's – it's him, isn't it?"

Elsa exhaled sharply, realising that Anna wasn't going to be fooled by her – rather poor – façade. "Please Anna, I've got everything under control. You don't have any reason to worry,"

"Then why are you all the way down here, near the dungeons? You're going to see him, aren't you? That's what you're doing, isn't it? You wouldn't be here if it wasn't serious!"

"I don't know anything for certain, yet. That's what I'm doing – checking if it's serious or not,"

"Checking whether what's serious? What could possibly have gone wrong in three days-?" Anna cut herself off, remembering just how much things could change in such a short space of time.

The queen remained silent, trying to decide which course of action to take.

"Elsa, please," Anna's voice was soft, her eyes pleading. "After everything that's happened…I have a right to know,"

"Fine!" Elsa threw her hands up in defeat. She couldn't protect Anna forever – besides, she'd probably sneak down to the dungeons in the middle of the night or something equally foolhardy if she was left in the dark. Again. No, Elsa was done lying to her sister for "her own good". She was mature enough to cope with unpleasant truths – the prince in question had made sure of that.

"I've just been informed that there's white in his hair. Like yours – after I struck you. I don't remember hitting him with my magic at any point, but I have to at least check it out. I mean – it's probably another trick!" She added hastily when she saw Anna's eyes widen with – was that shock or concern? "But I have to be sure. We can't put him on a boat with a frozen heart…"

"You think his heart might be frozen? Like mine was?"

"I honestly don't know. I can't think of any other reason for his hair to be white…"

Anna rounded on the guards "When did this happen? When did you first notice it?"

"Earlier this afternoon, your highness. But he seemed to be trying to hide it – we don't know how long it's been there,"

"Assuming it's genuine," The other guard piped up.

"I wouldn't put it past him to fake something like this," Anna snorted, folding her arms.

"You said you'd checked it!" Elsa turned to the guards too, her temper flaring.

"We did, your majesty!" The guard worriedly glanced down at Elsa's gloved hands before flicking back up to her face. "It seemed real, but we don't know much about it. We just thought that you'd know for certain,"

"Well the sooner we know, the better," She nodded her head in the direction they'd been heading. "So, if you please…?"

"Yes, of course, your majesty," the guards gave a slight bow before starting forwards again.

She followed them, Anna falling into step beside her.

"Wait," she said, stopping dead in her tracks. "Anna, no. Stay here. Please,"

"What, why? I want to come too!"

"Do you think it's really a good idea for you to see him again? He's already hurt you enough as it is,"

Anna took a deep breath before visibly squaring her shoulders, adopting a commanding tone that didn't quite seem to fit her. "Elsa…I need you to stop babying me. For years you shut me out to protect me – and that did nothing but hurt us both. I know you're older, but just because you're my big sister doesn't mean you always know what's best for me."

Elsa scrutinised her sister, noting the determined set of her jaw and the fire in her eyes. She sighed, defeated. "You not going to back down on this, are you?"

"Nope. I'm coming down there with you." Her expression shifted slightly, looking once again more pleading than commanding. "I have a right to know what's going on, I'm owed that much,"

"As much as I wish you weren't…you're right. It's not fair to keep this from you. But Anna, if things get too much for you, if he gets under your skin…please promise me you'll leave,"

"You don't have to worry, Elsa. He caught me off guard before, but I'm ready for him this time. I know what to expect,"

"Anna, promise me. I don't want you getting hurt again,"

"There's not really that much more he could say to hurt me, he put everything he had into his dumb villain speech back in the study. But," She caught her sister's eye, noticing its steely glint. "If it'll make you feel any better, then I promise."

"Okay. So," Elsa held out her hand. "Together?"

Anna smiled and took her sister's hand. "Together."


	2. Chapter 2

They had to let go of each other's hands in order to traverse down the narrow, winding staircase to the levels below, though this turned out to be a blessing as it left Anna's hands free to wrap around herself against the chill that had started to creep through her light summer clothes as they made their descent.

It seemed to grow colder still with each step they took, though Anna wasn't sure if it was due to Elsa or the gloom of the dungeon. Perhaps it was both.

As they passed by the empty cells to reach the end of the corridor, Anna realised that the dungeon wasn't nearly as horrific as she had imagined it would be, though it still looked like a pretty miserable place to spend any length of time. The stone seemed to leech the warmth from the very air, every slight noise felt too loud against the stifling gloom, and every breath seemed like a struggle. Anna felt a chill run through her at the thought of spending any longer down here than was strictly necessary, and she almost pitied Hans considering somewhere like this would be his home for the considerable future.

Almost.

One of the cells they passed seemed a lot draughtier than the rest, though Elsa quickly ushered Anna past before she could get a glimpse inside to see why. She guessed it was where Elsa had been kept prisoner and so didn't press the issue; Elsa hadn't wanted to go into a lot of detail when recounting her side of the story, and Anna was doing her best to realise when it was simply best to leave well enough alone with her sister. Now seemed like one of those times.

The guards escorting them stopped in front of one of the cells near the end of the corridor; these cells were unlike the ones they had passed in that instead of heavy wooden doors set into stone, the entire front wall was nothing but bars, offering the residents no privacy whatsoever.

Anna's eyes immediately found Hans, her chest suddenly constricting even though he was facing away from them and simply resting on his prison cot. Perhaps that was even why it was so unsettling; despite everything, he was just… _here_. Hans wasn't plotting, or laughing evilly to himself, but stretched out and staring out of the window, like a normal person. He even had his boots on the bed, she noticed. Would he have done that if –

No. She'd drive herself crazy if she let herself start thinking about all this again.

Thankfully one of the guards broke Anna out of her thoughts by announcing their presence. "The queen's here to see you. About your condition." His tone was clipped, authoritative; they never spoke like that to Anna, and she couldn't help but wonder how the prince felt being addressed as if he were no more than a common criminal.

"I'm fine," He intoned, not even looking round at them. It was so different from the grand bows he had given them before that Anna couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was funny how people behaved differently when they no longer cared.

"It would seem that may not be the case." Elsa stepped a little closer to the bars, her newly re-gloved hands clasped in front of her.

Anna had been trying to steel herself for his gaze, willing herself to not fall apart when she inevitably came face to face with those eyes she'd once thought dreamy. She needn't have worried herself, however, as Hans kept his eyes fixed either firmly to the floor or to the window, which she could see gave a very clear view of the docks.

"And it would seem that you have been misinformed."

From this angle Hans appeared to have a full head of that familiar, striking auburn hair – not a hint of white to be seen. Though perhaps that was why he was keeping his face turned away from them – a rather poor attempt to keep the white strand in question hidden from view. The guards had said that he'd been trying to conceal it.

"The guards have told me about your situation, and I'm inclined to trust their word over yours."

He still didn't turn around, but Anna saw him clench his jaw as if he were physically holding back a (probably biting) reply.

"Hans?" Anna stepped forward "We just want to check your hair, that's all."

His head turned a little at the sound of her voice, and she could see that his expression was not as blank as she'd first assumed, shock painting his features. She supposed she was the last person he'd expect to visit him down here.

"Why are _you_ here?"

Maybe it _had_ been a bad idea for her to accompany Elsa. At least her sister had the excuse that it was her duty to look after prisoners, but Anna didn't have any sort of political reason to actually be involved in any of this. God, why had she come here, he'd probably think that –

"Here to have a good laugh? I suppose I deserve it."

She blinked. Now _that_ hadn't been what she was expecting. She would have thought he'd think a little better of her than that, but then he probably judged everyone by his own miserable standards.

"No, that's not why I'm here. I'd _never_ do that, because unlike _some_ people here, I'm not a horrible excuse for a human being."

"Oh, so you just came down here to insult me? I suppose that's a little better."

"I'm here to help check if you're dying or not." She crossed her arms, thinking he might be at least a _little_ grateful that after all he'd done they were still willing to check up on him.

"What does it matter, anyway? My ship will be fixed soon and I'll be out of your hair in a few days, problem solved."

Anna frowned. What kind of attitude was _that_?

"I think," Elsa's steady voice cut in, "that if we sent you home with a frozen heart and you were found on board your ship frozen solid, it wouldn't really reflect all that well on us as a kingdom, especially as we've already sent word to your brothers that we're letting them decide your punishment. You know full well that it could be seen as an act of war."

Hans looked as if he'd narrowly avoided rolling his eyes before replying.

"I'm nowhere near important enough for my brothers to even consider waging a war in my name, especially against someone with the power to freeze an entire kingdom."

"Considering all we have to work with on that matter is your word, I don't think we really want to risk it."

"Believe what you want, but it won't change the fact that you're wasting your time here. I mean, you're hardly holding me up; I've got nothing _but_ free time, but if I were you, I'd be out enjoying the sunshine after the abominable weather we've just had. You never quite know when it'll be back, after all…"

Anna could see in the slight shift of Elsa's shoulders that Hans' jab had affected her more than she was trying to let on, and felt her mouth press into a hard line as she fought to keep quiet. Elsa could take care of herself;, she didn't need Anna blabbing nonsense threats on her behalf, not when she was cool and collected and could shoot ice, besides.

"Be that as it may, we're not leaving until we've sorted this out. It's also nice to hear that you're not looking to waste our time as Anna and I don't want to be down here any longer than we have to be, so I trust you'll be giving us your full co-operation."

Anna's lips twitched into a smirk. Yep, Elsa could _definitely_ handle herself.

Hans said nothing, instead merely looking back and forth between the two sisters as he ran an exasperated hand through his hair. The movement pushed his hair back slightly, revealing a previously hidden streak of white at the base of his scalp.

"See! You do have a white stripe!" Anna pointed at the offending streak victoriously. "Just like mine."

Hans merely sighed, his arm dropping to his side.

"That doesn't prove anything. I'm probably going grey early from the stress of everything. Single-handedly running a kingdom during an enchanted winter that no one was prepared for can do that."

Trust Hans to find something like looking after people in need ' _stressful_ '.

"And I suppose attempted regicide doesn't even count as a form of stress, does it?"

"And what would you know of stress? You ran off leaving everything to me without so much as a backwards glance. I was the one having to calm people down and eke out food supplies while you were off blundering around the mountains."

Anna started forward, only to find Elsa's arm blocking her path as she sent Anna a warning glance. It was probably for the best. The last punch she'd given Hans didn't really solve anything, and had left her wondering if she had just ended up sinking to his level. Anna was increasingly glad that she wasn't down here alone; at least this way she had someone with her to stop her from doing something stupid.

"Prince Hans, I want to make it clear that we are trying to _help_ you. You might at least be grateful, considering that you hardly deserve it after the crimes you committed against us."

"I didn't ask for your help, and I certainly don't need it."

"Why are you being like this?" Anna couldn't help but cut in again. What was he _up_ to? "You saw what happened to me! You could die!"

"And if I do? What would it matter? What would it matter to _you_?"

"It would matter that someone died when I could have saved them! Obviously, this isn't something familiar to you, but _most_ people have some sort of conscience about this sort of thing."

"Actually, I don't have a problem saving things at all. I just only bother when the person I'm saving is actually useful."

" _Anna_!" Elsa had stepped in front of her again, her voice considerably less even than usual. She widened her eyes in warning, before indicating for her sister to step to the side.

Fists clenched, Anna marched a few paces away from the cell, throwing one last dirty look at Hans before being cornered herself by Elsa, whose calm expression had given way to something ominously close to what Anna would describe as 'thunderous'.

"You said you would leave if he got under your skin. You _promised_ me."

"I'm not – I'm not _upset_. I wasn't lying when I said that he'd done everything he could to upset me when I was freezing. I just don't understand why he's doing this." She crossed her arms, willing her hands to stop itching for another chance to give Hans a good punch. "Is it a trap? Is he going to let himself get sick and then tell everyone you froze his heart on purpose?"

Elsa closed her eyes in exasperation. "I hadn't even thought of that, I just thought he was being difficult….like a child throwing a tantrum when they don't get their way. But this could be so much worse! The people have just only started to trust me again and I –"

"No no no no _no_! I didn't say people would believe him! Just that he'd try it. Everyone knows what he did, and anyone would be crazy to listen to him. Besides, the guards have all seen us offer him help too."

Elsa let out a slow breath. "You're right… of course no one would believe him. Sorry, I'm just still so…" Her eyes roamed the room as she sought the words to explain herself, but upon catching the eye on one of the guards, Elsa quickly snapped up straight, her previous words forgotten. "A-anyway, surely he's worked all this out too? Why would he try something like that when he's got to know that no one's going to believe him?"

"I don't know! I'm just trying to understand why he's refusing our help when it could kill him! It _has_ to be something sneaky. I don't think he'd give up just like that."

"Well, no matter what he's up to, we can't just ignore it."

"I wasn't saying we should. But how are we supposed to know if his heart's frozen if he won't even talk to us about it?"

"I don't know. It's not like we can force him. What are we going to do, torture him for his own good?"

"Wait…now that you've learned how to thaw your ice, do you think maybe you'd be able to do that to his heart? If it works then the problem's solved, and if it wasn't frozen to begin with then no harm done!"

"Don't I get any say in this?" A voice behind them suddenly cut in. "Because I'd rather not have her anywhere _near_ my heart, thank you very much."

Anna whirled around, hands on her hips. "Have you been listening to us this entire time?"

"I can't help that you talk quite so loud. If you wanted privacy you should have stepped a little further away… or perhaps learned to speak more quietly…"

"Just ignore him. Anything he says is meant to hurt, not help." Anna turned back to Elsa, not even bothering to move any further away. Let him listen.

"No, he's right. I could make it worse. That is, if that's even the problem. I might have struck him in the head, and if that's the case then he may be okay. But if I start using my powers around his heart, I could actually end up freezing it when it was fine before. I only _just_ learned how to melt ice; it's far too risky for me to use my powers on someone when I don't know what I'm doing."

"Hmph." Anna blew a wayward strand of hair away from her face as she considered this. "Are you able to maybe, I don't know, _sense_ it or something, instead?"

Elsa rubbed at her forehead tiredly before replying. "The thing is, even I don't know that much about it. I can… cause it. But I wouldn't say I'm an expert at _identifying_ frozen hearts,"

"Experts…? That's it!" Anna's frown melted away as she grabbed her sister's sleeve excitedly. "Elsa! The trolls! Back when you struck me with ice, Kristoff took me to the trolls and they knew _straight away_ that it was a frozen heart! They'd know, for sure! If anyone would know what's going on, it's them!"

"The trolls?" She echoed, staring past Anna for a second. "The trolls! Yes, of course! Anna, you're a lifesaver!"

Perhaps quite literally, if this whole thing wasn't a trick and Hans did actually have a frozen heart.

"They might even be able to remove any ice magic still left inside of him," Elsa mused, starting to look a little more hopeful.

"Wait, _trolls_?"

The sisters turned back to the cell to see Hans staring at them with a rather bemused expression on his face.

"There are some trolls, up in the mountains, who are rather well-versed in magic. They'll be able to sort this mess out once and for all."

"Trolls," He repeated, apparently still not grasping the concept.

"Yes, trolls. And they're actually somewhat practiced at spotting these things by now, so if you're making it up then they'll _know_."

Anna realised too late the implication of her words, but Elsa's wince disappeared before Anna could reassure her

"What would I even be making up? It's everyone else who keeps insisting there's something wrong with me."

"I'm not going to pretend I know how your mind works but if we can be sure of anything, then it's that you're up to something. I was just warning you that we're prepared for your tricks this time." Anna jutted her chin into the air, hoping she looked at least a little bit threatening.

"Consider me officially warned," He said, leaning up against the bars. "I'll make sure any attempts to hoodwink you are especially devious and cunning this time around, so that I'm not immediately scuppered by your obviously superior powers of observation…"

Anna opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind (who acted like this with people trying to _help_ them, anyway?), but was stopped short by Elsa quickly steering her back down the corridor, her hands still not comfortable touching anyone for long, even with her gloves on.

"He's just looking for a rise. He's probably bored out of his mind in there and you're the best entertainment he's had in days."

"Yes, well he'd better get used to being locked up and bored, because that's all that's waiting for him for _a very long time_." She made sure to raise her voice for the last part, wanting to rub it in a little bit. It was the least he deserved, really.

"Don't bother with him. Even you taunting him is giving him far too much fun."

" _Fun_?"

"The guards don't talk to him, you see. He's probably desperate for someone to talk to, even if you are only reminding him how long he's going to be locked up for."

"They don't _talk_ to him? At _all_?"

If she'd stopped sooner to think about it, Anna would have realised that of _course_ guards wouldn't stand around chatting to prisoners all day. They were there to be punished, after all. But she'd been so busy trying to avoid thinking about Hans, that when she invariably slipped up, she always found herself focusing on the _locked away_ part rather than realising that it went hand in hand with being alone, too.

Well, actually he wasn't alone at all, was he? He was being ignored. Thinking back on her own past, Anna wondered if that was worse.

"No," Elsa shook her head as they neared the foot of the dungeon steps. "Guards aren't supposed to engage prisoners unless they really have to. No talking allowed."

It suddenly felt as if all the air had left her lungs, leaving a strange yet familiar ache in its place. No, this couldn't be happening, she tried to convince herself. She couldn't actually be feeling sorry for him.

She shouldn't.

And yet…

"So… they're basically acting like he's invisible?"

"Well, that's one way of putting it, I suppose. They let him know when his mealtimes are, or if he has visitors… and if he's in trouble they listen to him, but for anything else then they just ignore him." Elsa shrugged and turned around, starting to head back up the winding staircase.

"Oh."

Anna couldn't help but think that Hans being treated as invisible for years was what caused all this mess – what made him so desperate for a throne – so what good would even more years of being treated the same way do? She supposed as a punishment it was fitting, but would he learn from it? Be a better person? Maybe that wasn't even the point. Maybe he'd just be left to rot in jail for the rest of his life.

Anna didn't quite know how she felt about that.

She realised she had been dawdling at the foot of the stars with a start, and hurried to catch up with Elsa back in the far more inviting palace corridors.

"Elsa?" Anna's heart leapt a little to see that her sister had been waiting for her, rather than just walking ahead.

"Hmm?"

"I'm not sure if I ever told you what Hans' brothers did to him…"

"What he _said_ they did, you mean." Her tone was a little sharper than usual, so much like when she would tell Anna to leave her alone.

Anna took a deep breath and carried on, ignoring the scratchiness at the back of her throat.

 _Things were different now. It was okay. She was loved._

But Hans wasn't.

"They ignored him. Pretended he was _invisible_. For years."

"And what's that got to do with anything?"

"Everything! Listen, Elsa, you didn't see him that day. It didn't sound like he wanted to be king for the title or the power… it was like he wanted recognition. He said he wanted to be the hero."

Elsa snorted.

"I know. I know it's stupid, but… what if all those years spent being ignored are the reason he is like he is? What if him being locked up doesn't fix anything because all the guards do are act like he isn't there? What if he just gets worse?"

Elsa stopped walking and turned to her sister, her face stony as she gripped at her upper arms.

"This isn't about fixing him, Anna. This is about punishing him for what he did."

"But how will that make anything better? It won't undo what he did."

"No, it won't. But neither will letting him go. In fact, _that_ would make him worse, because then he'd think he could get away with whatever he wants."

"I didn't say that we should let him _go_ , I just -"

"You just _what_ , Anna? Thought that you'd try and get me to feel sorry for him too? Well, forget it. I know you're tough but he hurt you, and he hurt you badly. Someone needs to stay mad at him for that."

"But…" Anna hated how small her voice sounded in that instant, hated that she and Elsa were arguing, and that it was about _him_ , of all things. But she couldn't just let this happen without at least saying _something_.

"But what?" Elsa sighed, her face softening and her shoulders dropping as her grip on her arms loosened.

"I don't know. I don't know what we should do, but I do know that this isn't right."

Elsa took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few moments before replying, making sure to look Anna dead in the eye as she did so.

"Both of us were locked away for years because I hurt you accidentally. I think it's the least he deserves for doing it intentionally."

Anna opened her mouth to reply but Elsa had already turned and swept away, looking back only briefly to call out, her voice heavy with warning:

"I'll see you at dinner."


End file.
